Flying
by teammcgonagall
Summary: Earthbenders are not accustomed to midnight flights. Linzin fluff.
1. Flying

"You're gonna want to hold tight to me," he said, as he'd said time and time again that night; but as he bent the air beneath the sail, she realized he had really, truly meant it. As her feet slowly lifted from the ground a sense of absolute terror filled her, and she gripped him, hard, around the waist.

He laughed. They were flying.

"_See? Isn't this great?_!" he shouted over the wind that roared in her ears, the wind that nearly deafened her. It took all of her self-control to nod against his back. "_Open your_ _eyes, Lin!"_ She shook her head at that, only clutching him tighter, her legs clenched around his, struggling not to think about how many feet of empty air sat between her and the waters below. "_I won't let you fall, I promise you."_

She couldn't open her eyes—no force in the world could've opened them, she thought as the wind slashed at her face and whipped her hair against the glider. She pressed herself against his back, dug her face in the spot between his shoulder blades. The relief from the wind was blissful, and his skin warmed her; when she breathed, she noticed he smelled like cherry blossoms. She breathed deeper.

He dipped and soared through the night air; her stomach fluttered and she feared she might vomit. She could see it clearly in her mind's eye, throwing up all over his robes, all over this boy who made her feel just as queasy and terrified and alive on the ground as he did in the air. She had never realized that love worked like this—her love for her mother, for Uncle Aang and Aunt Katara, was solid, focused, and strong. It make her feel protected, surrounded. But this feeling she had for Tenzin—it was all fluttery stomach and nausea and even a splash of dependency, with pieces of self-consciousness and uncertainty. This was not how she understood love, yet this was how was with him. She couldn't quite bring herself to hate the feelings.

"_C'mon, Lin!"_ His voice called her back from her thoughts. _"Please, just one look. For me? It's so beautiful!"_ Oh, God, what was life without a healthy dose of fear once and a while? For a split second, she yanked her eyelids up—and saw. Between Tenzin's flowing yellow and red robes and the glider's paper sail, the night sky was such a clear, beautiful dark blue, illuminated by thousands of stars. And downward—oh, the sea shimmered with the lights of the city, of the island, and of the sky above it. For a moment she could hear the waves over the howling wind, and she took comfort in it, watching the water wax and wane in the soft light.

She didn't know he'd been watching her until she moved her head back to its original spot between his shoulders; his eyes were gleaming in the weak light, a smile soft above the beard that was just beginning to grow. Clumsily, he reached back a hand to brush away some hair from her forehead. She luxuriated in the touch for just a moment; then it dawned on her, and she screamed.

"_Eyes back on the air, you idiot!"_


	2. Caught

When they finally landed, she forced herself to resist the strong urge to fall to her knees and kiss the ground; as it was, she stumbled on unsteady legs as she released her hold on Tenzin, but he caught her and held her tight.

"See? You're safe." He held his staff in one hand while the other arm wrapped snugly around the small of her back; his strong features were mostly in shadow, barely visible from the reflected starlight. She clutched his robes as she righted herself, and was only forced to let go when he began to walk away—but he took her hand, and guided her through the darkness.

"You're sure no one's awake?" Her voice was barely a whisper.

"A hundred percent." He brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed it tenderly, and the feeling distracted her, overwhelmed her until they made it inside the main building. It was a buzzing feeling in her stomach and head; she couldn't focus on anything, her only thought the thought of how good his lips would feel on the rest of her body.

And suddenly they were there; they had made it, undetected, into his room, and the moment he shut the door they were kissing. Their lips were clumsy and unskilled but it didn't matter; what only mattered was the thirst they had for each other, and how they feared they could never kiss enough.

The light was soft as it filtered through the thin curtains, falling over his bed and just illuminating the space enough so that they could help from slamming into the furniture. She still couldn't see him clearly, but that didn't quite matter with his lips so fiercely on hers.

She backed him against the bed and they tumbled onto it, her landing atop him until he pulled away and laughed and flipped her over. His hands tangled in her hair and she enjoyed the feeling of his tense, lean body pressing against hers, and the feel of the silken Air Nomad clothes against the palms of her hands.

The only sounds in the room were the noises their bodies made as they moved against each other; the slight wet sounds of their lips; and their excited breathing. They nearly jumped from their skin when a soft knock was heard on the door.

"What?"

"_Hide!"_

He nearly pushed her off the bed; she landed deftly, somehow catching herself just a second before she crashed to the floor, and dipped into his shallow closet.

"Tenzin?" The voice was Katara's, and it was soft on the other side of the door; Lin heard it open. Light streamed into the room, and her heart fell: the sheets on his bed were in disarray, as were his robes, which he tried to fix as casually as he could. His face was bright red. "I'm sorry, I just wanted to check in on you." The door began to close and Lin let out the breath she'd been holding as she began to relax. "And Lin, could you come out for a moment?"

Her blood seemed to freeze in her veins; Tenzin yelped slightly and gave her a panicked look. Embarrassed, frustrated, and confused, Lin stalked out from the closet and stood stock-still beside the bed, her head bent low in the hope that it hid her blush.

"Yes, Aunt Katara," she murmured.

"Would you like a ride home?"

"Yes, Aunt Katara." This was not the first time they'd been caught, but somehow this was much worse than any of the other times—with her mother, there was immediate anger and then forgiveness; with Aang there was laughter and a sense of conspiracy, with a gentle slap-on-the-wrist sort of punishment. But Katara—this was the first time she had caught them together and neither of them knew quite what to expect from her. She could nearly feel Tenzin's anxiety and wanted to give him a sympathetic look, but feared what sort of reaction that would bring from her mother's best friend.

"Come on." Eyes still downcast, she made her way to the light, and just as Katara's hand found the middle of her back, she shot a look back at Tenzin; they both wore the same expression of pathetic apology. Katara shut the door behind them.

The hand was firm but warm on her back, and the sensation of it made Lin's heartbeat quicken. It made her feel so horribly, to disappoint Katara in this way—there had always been a part of her that had wanted to do nothing but please her, to do and be a good woman in order to earn her affection. She knew, of course, that Katara did not give out love on a reward system, but the feeling remained. She wanted to make Katara proud of her, and it made her push her lips to work faster than her brain could process the words.

"Aunt Katara, Tenzin and I are really sorry—we just—I'm sorry—I hope we didn't wake you and we won't do this again and—"

A gentle laugh interrupted her speech, and the hand rubbed her shoulders. Lin dared to look up, and saw that Katara's face was warm and happy, although a bit tired. It amused her to know that her she slept with her hair loopies intact.

"Don't worry about it, Lin," she smiled, lifting her hand to place it on Lin's crown to stroke her hair. "I was sixteen once!" The honest smile relaxed Lin's stress and she let herself enjoy Katara's caress.

"_Oh_." The hint of disgust startled her and she examined Katara's face. The hand had stopped in her hair and Katara regarded her with a look of irritation. She sighed.

"Why don't we get you cleaned up before I take you home?" she asked, abruptly turning them to go down a different hallway.

Lin touched her hair self-consciously. Her mother had never been the _biggest_ fan of hygiene, but it had never been an issue until now.

"Am I that bad?"

"Oh, no, sweetheart! I think it was just the ride here—Tenzin _did_ fly you on his staff, didn't he?"

"I—"

Another reassuring smile. "You're not in trouble—with me, at least. Your mother, on the other hand…." Katara let the sentence die and Lin gulped.

When they entered the bathroom, Katara encouraged her to take a seat on the edge of the bathtub. A brush was taken from the cabinet behind the mirror, and Katara began to brush Lin's hair. "I'm sorry, this may hurt a bit," she murmured as a prelude before bringing the teeth down on the dark scalp, but Lin was filled with so much relief and happiness that she easily ignored the painful tugging.

Katara clucked her tongue. "When did you last brush your hair?"

"Three days ago, maybe?" She winced when the teeth went through a particularly tough knot.

The responding sigh was long and heavy, and Lin ventured a grin. "Mom always said there was nothing like a healthy coating of dirt."

That brought a laugh. "She said that when we were kids!"

They were quiet for a moment, and Katara moved the brush as gently as she could. "So…you're really not upset with me? Or Tenzin?"

The brush paused, and a hand pressed against her shoulder. "I'm not upset with you two, I promise. I know what it's like to be in a relationship at sixteen. You're acting how you're supposed to act—why should we be upset? Of course, you and Tenzin will still be punished for sneaking out, but for wanting to spend time together? What's so wrong about that?"

"Where you and Unc—Avatar Aang like this, too?"

"More than that—we were _much_ worse," she grinned.

"_Really_?"

"We were _terrible!" _The brush had found its way to the other side of Lin's head, and the tangles were gone. She stood as Katara placed the brush on the counter, and together they left the room.

"This is a very intense time in your life, Lin. But it's a good intense. You and Tenzin are good for each other; you balance each other out, and those relationships are the kind that last." As they walked, Katara brushed a lock of hair behind Lin's ear. "But no pressure; you're both still kids, barely adults. Just have fun while you can."

Lin smiled. "Okay."

"Would you like some tea before going back home?"

"I'd love some."


End file.
